U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) is a major

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

for almost all of its length in the U.S. state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. The route runs through the central portion of the state, following generally the alignment of the former Northern Pacific Railway (now BNSF) and connects the cities of Moorhead,

Detroit Lakes Detroit Lakes is a city in the State of Minnesota and the county seat of Becker County. The population was 9,869 at the 2020 census. Its unofficial population during summer months is much higher, estimated by citizens to peak at 13,000 midsumm ...

, Wadena, Little Falls, St. Cloud,

Anoka Anoka is the name of several places in the United States: * Anoka, Indiana, an unincorporated place * Anoka, Minnesota, a city **Anoka (Metro Transit station) ** Anoka County, Minnesota ** Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 * Anoka, Nebraska, a vill ...

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, and Cottage Grove. US 10 within Minnesota is in length.

Route description

US 10 enters the state from

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...

and heads through Moorhead parallel to

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

(I-94) and

U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

(US 52) until it exits the city. US 10 then takes a more northerly route than I-94/US 52 to St. Cloud, by heading through

, Wadena, and Little Falls. From St. Cloud to

Mounds View Mounds View is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 12,155 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. U.S. Highway 10, County Road 10, and Interstate Highway 35W are three of the ma ...

, US 10 is a busy route through the suburbs of St. Cloud and

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

US-10 and MN-47 concurrency in Coon Rapids, Minnesota

East of Mounds View, US 10 is marked mostly along Interstate Highways until

, where the route runs concurrently with US 61 to Cottage Grove. US 10 then heads east to the

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

state line and exits the state. US 10 is a divided highway along most of its length through the state, with posted speed limits along much of the way, except for two-lane or undivided four-lane stretches through Wadena and

Motley Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, the motley fool, or the arlecchino character in ''commedia dell'arte''. The harlequin wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif. The word ''motley'' i ...

. There are some posted speed limits in the four-lane section between Elk River and

and the two-lane section between Bluffton and Wadena. Legally, the Minnesota section of US 10 is defined as unmarked Constitutional / Legislative Routes 2, 37, 27, 3, 62, and 94 in the Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.114(2) and 161.115(25). US 10 is not marked with these legislative numbers along the actual highway.

History

US 10 was established on November 11, 1926. Originally, the route split between Moorhead and St. Cloud into ''US 10N'' and ''US 10S''. In 1934, US 10S was replaced by US 52, (now I-94) and US 10N became simply US 10. US 10 in Minnesota was paved between St. Cloud and the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

as early as 1929. The remainder of the route was paved by 1950. The four-lane

section between the cities of Elk River and

was constructed by 1942. The

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

section of US 10 between the city of Anoka and University Avenue (at the Coon Rapids– Blaine boundary line) was completed in the early 1970s. The new freeway section of US 10 between University Avenue and

I-35W Interstate 35W may refer to: *Interstate 35W (Texas), an Interstate highway serving Fort Worth, Texas, and its suburbs *Interstate 35W (Minnesota), a Interstate highway serving Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its suburbs **The I-35W Mississippi River ...

was completed in 1999. From 1934 to 1999, US 10 was located on a different alignment between Coon Rapids, Spring Lake Park, and Mounds View. This is now known as County Road 10. When

I-694 Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US Hi ...

and

I-35E Interstate 35E may refer to: *Interstate 35E (Texas), a long branch route serving Dallas, Texas *Interstate 35E (Minnesota), a long branch route serving St. Paul, Minnesota See also * Interstate 35W (disambiguation) Interstate 35W may refer to: * ...

were completed in the late 1960s, US 10 was then signed concurrently with these highways east of Mounds View to the city of Saint Paul. As of 2017, US 10 in the Twin Cities Metro Area has been fully upgraded to a freeway from Anoka to Hastings (save for three signalized intersections at Burns Avenue, Warner Road, and Lower Afton Road).

Major intersections

References